#spock in this movie was just amazing I loved him so much

[gay-mooshrooms]

well its official

The Voyage Home is the best movie I've ever watched in my godamn life

[thats-godscomma]

Since rewatching Psych, I've been thinking about how weird and arbitrary Shawn's interests are. Sure, late 2000's writing had something to do with it, and maybe a bit of Henry and Gus's influence, but hearing Shawn be so vocal about how he hates certain popular things or (more importantly) refuses to give them a chance BUT at the same time knowing so many pop culture references, it got me thinking.

What if the reason Shawn has so many pop culture references on hand is because of his eidetic memory, and he doesn't actually have as much of an interest in pop culture? Throughout the show, he actively avoids getting roped into big interests and franchises (see: comic books, soap operas, etc.) despite the fact that he genuinely seems excited once he's part of it. In fact, we don't get to see a lot of Shawn's interests at all unless it's based on an idea.

Take being a bounty hunter, for example. According to him, he's obsessed with the idea, but he doesn't make many references to an actual bounty hunter show or franchise. Instead, he just remembers the one bounty hunter he saw as a child and maybe references a movie or two. Because once he remembers something, he's never going to forget it, or at least not for a very long time.

That's why he thinks in references. Everything is a reference if you have a good enough memory. Everything reminds you of something. If Shawn hears someone make a Spock reference, it's in his repertoire forever. But he wouldn't be caught dead watching the shows or movies because that's just too much information. Why on earth would he endure that?

Of course, it also intertwines with his ADHD. He has bouts of energy and trouble focusing. He can't sit still to save his life, and he hyperfixates...or he would if his memory didn't make him averse to it. So if he doesn't want to hyperfixate on an information-based interest, then what does he hyperfixate on? Physical activities. Instead of learning about his favorite daredevil, he tries to be one himself. When he learns about oil rigs, he doesn't get a book from the library. He tries to find oil in his backyard.

This is also where he and Henry differ regarding Shawn's "potential." Henry is correct when he talks about Shawn's "wasted" potential, but he doesn't understand the toil of having this eidetic memory and ADHD. Here's what I think happened: Henry probably noticed Shawn's stellar memory at a young age, realized he has a gift, spoke with his wife about her eidetic memory, learned that you need to challenge your child's eidetic memory at a young age or it'll go away, started the hat game to make it fun and exciting, but then Shawn's ADHD appeared. Suddenly, it made him much harder to raise (because let's be real, Shawn was not an easy child.) Henry didn't know what he was doing anymore, and since it was the 80's, he didn't have the resources to properly understand his kid's behavior, so he tried to find a common interest, and started training Shawn to be a detective "because kids love cop shows." But Shawn struggled to stay attached to one single interest, and when he grew up, he stopped trying to articulate his problems because his mom (the only person who remotely understood his struggles) left, and he blamed his dad for it.

And academics? Those are a joke because what is the point of studying if he already remembers everything? Until, of course, he needs to apply it to a problem-solving test or writing an essay. Suddenly, he's memorizing a math teacher's answer sheet and copying Gus's report.

Yes, Shawn could have been a great cop. He could be an amazing scientist or anything really. He could have been a national spelling bee champion like Gus wanted to be. Even 15 years later, Shawn remembered exactly what word Gus messed up, how to spell the word, and what letter he made Gus slip up, but he didn't want to be on that stage with Gus because that requires so much learning. And so much time. And so much memorizing. And he refuses to sit still for that long when he knows that overloading his head is going to give him migraines.

Also his "I've heard it both ways" probably comes from the fact that people with eidetic memory can still make lots of mistakes if they don't actively commit something to memory. If Shawn only overhears something, he'll still naturally try to fill in the gaps like everyone else, but because he's so confident in his memory, he just believes what he remembers to be true, leading him to repeat incorrect information with confidence. That could also be why some of his references are incorrect due to mixed-up homophones.

Anyway, this post was supposed to be about how Shawn is just a walking movie reference because his memory won't let him forget quotes, but then I fell into a rabbit hole of the negative effects of having an eidetic memory as a child, and I am very passionate about how Henry actually tried his best, and people need to stop calling him a horrible parent. Love y'all. Let me know what you think.

[your-name-is-jim]

What a Kirk/Spock shipper sees in a Kirk/Female-Love-Interest story [PART 2/2]

Part 1 <- Please read Part 1 first. Part 2 won't make sense otherwise!

This panel is absolutely AMAZING and you all deserved to see it :D

So, what were we talking about? Oh, yeah, Laura just proposed.

As you can see, Jim is panicking not sure what to answer, so the first thing he does is calling his two best friends. There are so many things going on here; I'll try to mention everything I care about!

"Starfleet is getting a lot better at partners of equal rank working together."

This is an important part of this comic: apparently, in this story Starfleet isn't encouraging relationships between officers with a different rank. I know it's sort of implied in canon too, but it's not always clear if it's actually against regulations or if it's fine when the ranks are close.

As a K/S shipper, this detail just gives me an in-universe reason why Jim and Spock aren't considering dating each other in this story: a commander can't probably have a relationship with a captain. I mean, we already know from canon TOS that Jim avoids relationships with the members of his crew, so this just adds a layer to a potential forbidden love story between them. Yeah, I know this isn't what this comic is trying to do, but what can I say? Fans don't stop shipping something just because they learn it's not allowed in-universe… if anything, they can find it more exciting! :D

"We could teach at the Academy. Mind you, she laughed at that idea."

Oh, wait. Jim actually talked to Laura about their possible future together! It looks like he's thinking about them as teachers at Starfleet Academy. Hmm… this sounds familiar:

2277 — Accepts appointment to Academy faculty, moves into San Francisco apartment

This is from Kirk's biography in Star Trek official website. Between The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan, Jim accepts a job at the Academy. We see it at the start of the second movie, after Saavik takes the Kobayashi Maru test.

Wait, who's the other teacher here? :D

Okay, okay, in that era Jim is an admiral and Spock is a captain, so their ranks are still different, but except for that… They both teach at the Academy. And it's literally what Jim proposed to his love interest Laura in the comic! With my Kirk/Spock goggles on, what I read in that panel is "If Laura and I got married, we could both do this thing that I'm totally going to do with Spock in the future." LOL

Did the comic creators notice the parallel? Probably not. However, we K/S shippers have special skills for finding accidental implications about our ship everywhere, so here it is :)

"Your thoughts, please, Mr. Spock."

I said I had a lot to say about that single panel, so of course I can't skip the last line! A human woman has just proposed to Jim, and what does Jim do? He asks for Spock's opinion. This says a lot about Jim and Spock's friendship, and it's very sweet on Jim's part, but it also makes me think about Jim's love life. What about Jim and Laura's romantic feelings for each other? Does Jim want to spend the rest of his life with her? Perhaps the reason they don't talk about it (not even with Bones!) is that it's implied that Jim loves her and she loves him, even if they never say it. However, I still think it's interesting that Jim's discussion on the matter is mostly "logical".

Anyway, I swear I won't post every single panel of this comic, but Spock's reply is an absolute gem you all must see:

"I AM SOMETHING OF AN EXPERT ON THE SUBJECT OF JAMES T. KIRK."

(dkjflsdjlkdjglk brb losing my mind again)

Ahem. Okay, Spock. Noted. Also, wow, nice make up. Did I say that the art in this comic is great? Good.

"I believe someone of equal status would offer you the best possible chance of happiness."

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I find interesting his use of "equal status" instead of the more specific "equal rank". Status makes me think less of their official position in Starfleet, and more of how two people actually see each other. It's not just about Laura and Jim being both captains; it's about them seeing each other as equals.

Anyway, Jim jokes about Bones and Spock finally agreeing about something, and the conversation continues.

Jim's best friends are both encouraging him to marry Laura. In this panel, I zoomed in on Bones because his words are especially interesting. Based on everything we've seen so far, it looks like having a romantic partner when you're in Starfleet is a pain in the ass in general in this comic; however, Bones is pointing out that for the first time, Jim has someone who really understands. Of course, that's because she's a Starfleet captain too.

About Spock, I won't share the entire conversation, but I just want to say that as a K/S shipper who likes to think Spock is secretly in love with Jim in this era, I find his dialogue where he's supporting Jim's relationship with Laura totally reasonable. It's important to remember that this comic takes place close to the end of the five-year mission. We know that Spock is going to run away after that, trying to erase all his emotions in Gol. So, in this specific part of his story, I find pretty in character that he'd tell Jim to find happiness with someone else. That's what he'd do, regardless of his own feelings.

So, Jim knows his two best friends think he should say "yes" to Laura. What happens next?

During a mission, Jim meets his ex Carol Marcus. She is surprised to find out that Jim is considering settling down. This is not completely related to this analysis, so I won't post it, but I found interesting that Carol knows about every single woman Jim dated before he became captain (the only one she doesn't name is Ruth), and she even says "And that woman in 1930, what was her name?" Just… how the hell does she know? LMAO

At least Jim hasn't told her about Miramanee and Rayna (well, technically he doesn't even remember the latter), but seriously, Carol does know a lot about Jim's private life, even if it's clear she doesn't want her or their son to be part of it. (Not really related to this plot, but in case you're confused about the timeline: David is a child in this era; however, he doesn't appear in this story.)

Anyway, this is what she eventually tells him:

So, I like to think that Carol is genuinely trying to help Jim here, because the spiteful ex girlfriend is another thing I don't really want to see in 2020. I want to think that the creators meant well; however, what happens in the story is that, despite Jim not seeing himself outside the captain's chair, and despite his best friends telling him to marry the captain that is just like him… Jim keeps thinking about Carol's words.

He knows from Starfleet that he's going to be promoted to admiral the moment he reaches Earth. What is interesting here is that Jim could refuse the promotion and be a captain with Laura. This is definitely a different situation from everything else I've seen before. It's obvious to anyone who has watched TOS movies that Jim is not happy as an admiral. He didn't really want to be one. He doesn't want to be one in this comic series either (you can see it explored in Star Trek: Year Five main story). However, thanks to The Motion Picture, we also know that he will accept promotion at the end of his five-year mission. This isn't a canon divergence story: the writers can't really change any major event, so they have to work with what canon offers.

What I find interesting is that in this 2020 comic, Jim finds himself in the opposite situation he is in Gene Roddenberry's The Motion Picture novelization from 1979. In Roddenberry's novel, it's mentioned briefly that Jim starts a relationship on Earth with a vice-admiral, a woman that was basically asked to use her charm to keep Jim grounded. Jim could refuse promotion, but he finds himself lost, without his ship, without Spock, and eventually without Bones. So he tries to convince himself that a life as an admiral with a perfect woman by his side will be good for him (it will not; Jim himself will realize a year later that his lover was an "Enterprise-surrogate").

Now, I understand trying to write something fresher and more modern in this Valentine's Day special, but I confess that I find a little hard to believe that Jim would accept a promotion as admiral if the alternative was keeping both a starship AND a wife. Also, let's not forget that Spock and Bones are both telling him to choose the married captain life. So, while I totally get from a writer's point of view that if you can't change canon, you have to work with what you have, I'm also not sure that Carol reminding Jim that he's always wanted to challenge himself is enough to make him doubt everything.

I guess I can sort of see that as part of a bigger problem: Jim knows he can't be a captain for life; during his first date with Laura, as we saw in Part 1 of my analysis, he talks about it.

"I've been thinking lately about whether I could ever stop being a Starfleet captain. Whether I could ever want to. A friend of mine talks about 'infinite diversity'. That applies to the Federation, too. But here I am, only built for one thing."

So, Jim knows he has probably avoided the subject for too long. Carol is forcing him to think about it. And, more implicitly, we could say Spock and his IDIC philosophy are also making him think, even if it's not what Spock would have expected. After all, Spock told Jim to marry Laura (in the comic), and he'll tell him that being a starship captain is his "first, best destiny" (in The Wrath of Khan).

Anyway, Jim eventually decides to meet Laura and talk to her about his personal concerns. First of all, we find out that the two of them haven't called each other for six weeks. Laura is still waiting for Jim's answer, and she didn't want to call him. If you ask me, their lack of communication is yet another a big clue that perhaps getting married is not a great idea.

Well, now Jim is at least trying to talk to her.

Aaand that's how she breaks up with him.

I'm not sure how to feel about this. I mean, in a sense, Jim doesn't say "I decided to be an admiral instead of marrying you", but Laura definitely sees it that way. I think he was genuinely looking for help, but that just proves that Laura isn't the right person for him. Why marrying someone you can't communicate with? They are such a great team as captains, but it looks like that doesn't apply to their relationship. I pointed out other clues in the previous parts, and now we got this. It's interesting to see that Jim in this comic can have a normal conversation about his future with Spock, Bones, and even Carol Marcus, but not with the person he's supposed to build a future with. Unless something changes between them, it can't work out.

Anyway, this isn't the end.

A year later, when Jim is an admiral on Earth, there's a sudden emergency. A miniature black hole appears out of the deep structure of the universe (don't blame me for the science, I'm literally quoting the comic LOL) and it's attracted to Earth gravity. Short story: they're all going to die, but fortunately the Drake (Laura's ship) can cause an anti-matter implosion that will shunt the black hole outside their reality. Unfortunately, that also means the Drake will have to go inside the black hole. Laura evacuates her crew and asks Admiral Kirk to give her the order to proceed. Reluctantly, Jim tells her that he knows she'll do it, and he gives the order.

Now, please appreciate The Motion Picture aesthetic:

Okay, I know I could have chosen a panel with Jim and Laura, since this is literally their love story, but I did say this analysis was going to be biased, so here is Laura with her two closest friends instead; they would never let her risk her life alone! <3 They are very obviously meant to be a parallel to what Spock and Bones are to Jim, which is very cute to see. Now, Laura, listen to me: I know the three of you have different ranks, but you may die in a few seconds… And I just think that the few times your friends appear in this comic, you have a lot of chemistry with them, sooo maybe you should forget about Jim and just smooch one of them, or both… just saying :)

Ahem. Anyway, after Laura and her girlfriends disappear into the void, there's another timeskip. This time it's 15 years.

Oh, damn.

I said in the premise of this analysis that one of the reasons I decided to read this comic despite shipping Kirk/Spock is that, in my headcanon, Kirk and Spock get together after The Motion Picture. Until this point, this comic hasn't really gone against my headcanon. I can genuinely believe that Jim had another girlfriend during his five-year mission; it's not a big deal. Unfortunately for me, this comic has its last part taking place around The Final Frontier era. Dammit.

Well, it's just one comic. I read until this point; it'd be illogical not to read until the end, right? Nah, it's not logic. It's human curiosity. I know I won't like it, but I still want to see it.

Also, if there's something that I really don't want to see in modern media anymore, is female characters dying just to make male characters suffer. I can accept that in TOS show because it was made in the 1960s, but even TOS movies got better about it! Characters like Saavik and Gillian can have their own lives without having to die for a man's pain. It's not a coincidence that the writers had to kill Spock to make Jim suffer. Without digressing too much, I just wanted to say that K/S bias aside, I went into this comic hoping to read something different from another dead woman for Jim. I'm very glad that, at least about this, the comic creators didn't disappoint me!

So, in this story, it's been 15 years since Laura's disappearance (actually, it should be more, but I'll try not to nitpick, despite being the trekkies' favorite hobby :D). Anyway, the one with the whales The Voyage Home happened, and Jim is not an admiral anymore. He's happy to have a starship again, but he hasn't stopped questioning his life decisions.

We can also see that, 15 years later, he's reading the book Laura liked.

HOLD IT! WAIT WAIT WAIT! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME??? WHAT THE--

*inhales deeply*

(Friendly reminder to myself that what is obvious to me may not be obvious to everyone else, so I need to explain. Fine. I'll try.)

The screenshots I posted are from The Wrath of Khan, right after Spock's funeral. What Jim is doing there is reading the end of the book that Spock gave him for his birthday. He's mourning Spock.

In the comic panel, Jim has a new pair of glasses, because it takes place a little later in the timeline. But, except for that…

It's the same scene.

The same fucking scene.

I mean, come on! I can't even post the "they're the same picture" meme, because it's not funny if they're literally the same picture! Even the bookmark is the same!

The comic creators literally took a canon scene about Jim reading Spock's book after Spock is gone, and they redrew it with Jim reading Laura's book after Laura is gone. In a Valentine's Day special. Where Laura is Jim's love interest. They made a romantic scene with Jim and a woman that was originally about Jim and Spock.

(Brb, I'm going to chew a pillow until I calm down.)

So. Well. If you wondered why I thought there was something about Kirk/Spock in this comic… you have your answer. Perhaps the artist didn't think anything about it. I certainly do.

And I guess someone could say, "But Jim is still reading Laura's book 15 years later! That's true love!" Why yes, he's not reading Spock's book 15 years later, because he didn't stay without Spock for 15 years; he risked everything and lost all the most important things in his life to save Spock's soul.

Anyway, back to the comic. Starfleet receives a signal from the edge of Federation space. It's the Drake. Laura and her friends are alive.

Jim and Laura have a reunion after a long separation. Since they're both captains now, Jim thinks they are given a second chance.

Oh, whoops.

It's her turn now. It looks like being away for 15 years has changed her (as you can expect, honestly), and she's now glad to become an admiral. In this comic, that means Jim can't marry her. So, this is how the story ends:

So. Um.

This isn't a bad ending, but I also wouldn't exactly call it a happy ending. It's certainly not a happily ever after story. I'd call it open, maybe hopeful? Honestly, pretty much what I'd expect from a love story between an original character and Jim, so I can't say the writing is disappointing about that.

On the other hand, I can't personally imagine middle-aged Jim being so eager to start a romance again with someone he hasn't seen in 15 years who broke up with him 16 years ago. Perhaps he felt guilty about Laura's disappearance because if he had married her, they would have been part of a colonization fleet somewhere else and the incident wouldn't have happened the same way? Maybe. Personally, I would have found more believable an ending where Jim asks her to have dinner together or go for a walk, and then something romantic happening as they get to know each other again. But I can see why the creators wanted to bring up the marriage proposal again, just to close the circle. The comic is just 32 pages, so they did what they could.

"Unless there's someone else." "Not so much. I've been really busy."

Busy with what? Oh, right: Spock's death, Spock's body on Genesis, Spock's rebirth on Vulcan, the time travel (okay, that one wasn't 100% Spock-related), Spock's brother… Honestly, just say there's been a lot of Spock in your life, Jim, because that's the truth :)

On a more serious note, I guess that dialogue could mean that Jim has someone, but "he's been too busy" to do anything serious with them. However, as a K/S monoshipper I don't really like the idea of Jim being in an open relationship with Spock, so Jim's character in the entire scene in the end is just a big NOPE for me. Sorry.

That said, I found very interesting that in a few panels they show very clearly the "captain" rank on Jim and Laura's shoulders, to point out that it's the same. They can't be together forever, but they can have fun for a few days as captains. Because of that, I went back to the start of the last timeskip, just to check out something:

Fascinating.

This is a pretty detailed panel, where you can see the ranks on the shoulders of Jim's friends; the colors of their pins are also pretty good, close to the ones in the movies… except for Spock's.

Oh, please. Did you really expect me not to pay attention to this? :)

Captain Kirk and Captain Spock.

And unlike Laura, this is what they are until the end! The end of a very long life! Generations? What's Generations? Spock will eventually become an ambassador, but that's just a different job. How did Spock himself put it earlier in this comic?

"I am something of an expert on the subject of James T. Kirk. And I believe someone of equal status would offer you the best possible chance of happiness."

Did the comic creators just play themselves? I don't know, I'm quoting their own story here! LOL

And what about Jim's words from the same scene? :D

"Starfleet is getting a lot better at partners of equal rank working together."

Partners. Of equal rank. Working together.

That's literally what Kirk and Spock are since the end of The Voyage Home! Without an expiration date!

The comic creators made a big deal in their universe about relationships being better between two captains, and how good Jim and Laura may have been for each other if they had married as captains; and now they can't have their happily ever after because Laura is going to be an admiral… But even if the comic tries to hide it, we know there is a captain in Jim's life. And to make things better, Jim lost his admiral rank to bring him back. Listen, I'm a huge Old Married Kirk/Spock fan, so there's no way anything can make me forget that in the last TOS movies they're both captains. And there's no way I can forget that Jim risked his entire career (and everything else!) for Spock, and that's literally why he's not an admiral anymore.

This is almost ironic in this Valentine's Day comic. If it hadn't been for Spock, Jim would have still been an admiral, and he could have married Laura. Whoops. Too bad.

Speaking of admirals, I didn't notice it at first, but there's also something about this line Laura says in the last panel I posted…

"And don't you dare 'Admiral' me."

Ah, yes, a typical thing you tell someone you're planning to have sex with. Right, Laura? Agreed :)

Honestly, at this point I should just stop checking this comic, because I wonder if I'd just end up finding a Kirk/Spock version of every Kirk/Laura Rhone line LOL

By the way, I have other thoughts to share now that the story is over, but there's one more thing first. Do you remember the last panels of the comic? Middle-aged Jim and Laura kiss; END.

Okay. After that, the comic has a picture of the cover, with Jim and Laura kissing when they're younger.

And then it has this:

dklsfjlskjflskjlksjlkdlkgjdlfgsnfjekniuwanf LISTEN, HOW--

Just how am I even supposed to say anything that makes sense about this…??? I'm just… I can't…

Okay. So. We're talking about a Valentine's Day comic. It makes sense for it to include a cute Valentine card. I also get that Spock's iconic line has become so mainstream that it can be quoted out of context. And you can make parodies.

But… But… A Star Trek TOS fan can't really forget the original context of "I have been and always shall be your friend"? Someone could just not think about it, I guess… But, well, I know that at least I can't forget that this is literally Spock's line to Jim rewritten in a romantic Valentine's Day version. I can't possibly NOT think about it!

And I know it's very possible that the people who worked on the comic story weren't even aware of this extra, but the fact that I'm seeing this after reading about Jim Kirk's romance without happily ever after… Jim kisses a woman he can't stay with forever, and then there's Spock's "I have been and always shall be your Valentine". It's just so fucking funny. I can't. If I was feeling a little down after seeing middle-aged Jim wanting to marry Laura, now I'm laughing again. Thanks, Spock's silly Valentine card. I needed it! :D

Anyway, what did I say about this comic taking things originally created for Kirk and Spock's relationship and making them romantic when they're not about them? I can believe that sometimes it's a coincidence, but this card? Please… In a sense, this is the perfect ending.

---

Conclusions.

I started this comic with a question: in 2020, how do you write a story about TOS Kirk falling in love? I wanted to see this attempt. Overall, I think the creators did what they could. Laura is different from every other woman in Jim's life; they didn't kill her off, and they also didn't force a happy ending. I think they did a good job with the canon limitations they had, especially in 32 pages.

Do I believe that Laura could have been a good match for Jim in different circumstances?

As a temporary girlfriend? Yes.

As a lifelong partner? No.

Of course, I'm aware my answer is biased, but I can try to be a little more "logical" about it.

First of all, I think that the comic itself supports my interpretation: of course, like in every story, different people are going to see different things; however, as I already pointed out, Jim and Laura never say that they love each other, and before the marriage proposal their relationship is pretty casual.

In The Original Series, Jim isn't lucky when it comes to romance because the women he falls in love with can't really understand his nature as a space explorer. Sometimes they can, like in Carol's case, and that's why they break up with him. Laura is the opposite, because she's just like Jim. But here is the thing: I think Laura is too much like him.

What would have happened if Jim had accepted to marry her at the end of the five-year mission? They would have been both captains. On different ships, though. Sure, they could have been part of the same colonization fleet, as Jim says in the comic, and maybe it would have worked for a while. However, would they really have seen each other as much as Jim needs?

I don't know about Laura, but we see multiple times in canon that behind his mask as a starship captain, Jim is definitely more lonely than what someone may think.

First of all, don't get me wrong: in these screenshots from The Naked Time, Jim is single, so of course his attraction to Janice Rand is related to that. It's not the same situation he'd be in if he were married to Laura. Early in the series, he has thoughts about his yeoman exactly because he doesn't have anyone else. Contrary to his fame as a womanizer, TOS Jim in canon always has one woman at a time in his mind, never more.

So, why am I sharing those lines? To show that when Jim is always inside the Enterprise, he does feel lonely. He needs a romantic partner's physical touch. However, we also know that Jim does not want a relationship with one of his subordinates, so Janice Rand and the rest of his crew are off limits.

Laura is good for him because she's part of Starfleet, and not a subordinate. But is that really enough? From what I've seen in the comic, no. At the end of the day, it looks to me that Jim and Laura don't really know how to plan a future together. Perhaps it's because they're so similar, but they don't really think of themselves as a couple, especially Laura. There's Captain James T. Kirk and Captain Laura Rhone; they both love their ships, so they should get married? That's not how it works.

Their relationship is casual. Jim doesn't want to define it. Are they friends with benefits? Are they in an open relationship? Either way, when Laura decides to marry him, she asks around if Jim has someone else, and only after that she asks him. Jim, on the other hand, doesn't talk to her for six weeks after her proposal. He talks to Spock and Bones immediately, but not to her. He even talks to Carol first.

Then, when Jim finally tries to talk to her about his problems, she doesn't listen. Their lack of communication is the cause of their break up.

16 years later, what we see is even worse. It's obvious that Laura has just different priorities. Maybe it's because of what happened to her lost in space, but I'm not sure. If they had married at the end of the five-year mission, would have Laura always refused a promotion to admiral? Would she have tried to get a promotion with Jim? Based on what we see in this comic, it doesn't look likely to me.

Now, as I said, different people are going to see different things, so I'm sure that someone really invested in this romance can imagine that Jim and Laura are really meant to be, and they can get their happy ending after their retirement, or in other ways. However, I admit that Jim and Laura's huge communication issues make hard to me to picture a long happy relationship between them. They should both try to get better, but in those 32 pages there was no hint towards that direction.

There's another thing that makes really hard to find any love interest for Jim as a plausible "happily ever after" option: the stakes. I know that it's just a single comic, so the creators had to focus on a few things; however, I couldn't help but notice that Jim and Laura never really save each other from dangerous situations. They work together as a team, and Jim watches Laura disappearing into the void, but does he do anything about it? Does he try to reach her inside her ship before she disappears into the black hole? Does he try to bring her back from the void? No, he doesn't.

In TOS show and movies, Jim Kirk risks so much for his crew and his ship that a Star Trek fan can't believe that a new woman is the love of his life, unless Jim is willing to do for her everything he does for his friends. And honestly, after The Search for Spock… how can he even come close to do that?

And it's not just about Jim's actions. There's his language too. At the start of the third movie, Jim refers to Spock as "the noblest part of myself". What could he say about a love interest that is as deep as this?

Let's be honest here: the reason it's so hard to write a story about Jim Kirk's true love is that the real love story for him has already been written. You may not see it romantically, but Kirk and Spock's story is absolutely a love story. And when a character has someone he loves so deeply, it's not easy to convince the audience that he could have someone new to love as deeply. In Jim's case, the combination of his personality and his canon life makes it almost impossible.

Anyway, before I end up not so accidentally turning this analysis into a complete Kirk/Spock ship manifesto, I'm just going to mention one silly thing about the Valentine's Day comic. Please, don't take it too seriously, I'm half-joking :)

So, there are two kiss scenes in the story: one when Jim and Laura start to spend a lot of free time together, and one in the last panel. Well, I can't believe Jim isn't holding Laura's shoulders when he kisses her! That's just the basis of the way Jim kisses women! D:

Different Star Trek characters kiss in different ways; it fits their personalities. And because the rest of my TOS posts are probably too gay for these gifs, I'm dropping them as references here:

Sorry, but if Jim Kirk doesn't grab someone's shoulders before a kiss, it just kills my immersion! :P

Okay, a little more seriously: Jim doesn't always kiss women the same way; however, his "shoulder grab" is common enough that you definitely notice it if you pay attention. Because of that, I think it would have been nice to include it in the Valentine's Day comic.

After reading this comic, what kind of person would I consider perfect for Jim?

Well, my answer is obvious. However, I'll try to elaborate.

First of all, this story definitely convinced me even more that Jim can only be really happy with another Starfleet officer (or at least someone who's been deeply involved with Starfleet). He also needs someone who understands him as a space explorer, without trying to keep him grounded. And someone very smart, of course. These are all traits Laura has. But they're just the basis.

I don't think Jim needs someone in command of their own ship as a lifelong partner. As I said before, I can't really imagine it working out. Another starship captain would have their own goals and their own ambitions; that doesn't mean Jim shouldn't marry someone with specific plans for their own career, but I think these plans should keep the two of them close, not on different ships. Jim needs his partner physically at his side; if he could be happy in a long-distance relationship, I believe we would have seen at least one working out in canon. But it's never the case. Working on different starships from the same fleet would be a little better, but in my opinion not enough, unless it's for a short period of time.

And there's also the matter of his partner's personality. Jim is a natural leader; that's why he's so good at his job. I don't think he needs a similar kind of leader as romantic partner. This is just my personal opinion, but I believe they would just fight about everything they disagree about. I think he needs someone calmer in his life, not someone who'd encourage emotional outbursts.

More importantly, he absolutely needs someone he can communicate with. If he can't talk to his partner about everything important, they're not the right person for him. That doesn't mean they can't have disagreements or miscommunication issues, of course, but they shouldn't happen all the time, and Jim and his partner should be able to talk about them and make up.

In conclusion: someone at his side on his ship, smart, calm, trustworthy :)

Now, I know what some of you are thinking about: what about the "no relationships with subordinates" personal rule Jim has? How can Jim be in a relationship with Spock (or anyone else on the Enterprise) if he's everyone's superior officer? Well, first of all, I already said that after The Voyage Home, Jim and Spock are both captains. And before that… I think that Spock in the comic phrased it the right way. Jim can find his happiness with someone of "equal status". I think it's pretty clear, in my opinion, that Janice Rand and Spock aren't the same kind of subordinates to Jim. Just think about it: which members of the Enterprise call their captain "Jim"? Bones, Spock and (occasionally) Scotty. These are the three people I believe are "equals" in private to Jim, no matter their ranks when they're on duty. Because of that, a relationship between Jim and Spock could work pretty well.

By the way, another thing the Valentine's Day comic made me think about is that in TOS movies, Jim sort of does with Spock pretty much everything he does with Laura in this story. Not the same way, of course, but does it matter? Spock is his own person, he's not Jim's copy. That doesn't mean he can't indulge Jim, have fun himself… and try to stop Jim from doing dangerous things "for fun", as an old spouse would :)

Okay, perhaps throwing each other into the water doesn't count as dancing, but it's so much better :D

In conclusion, this is the way I can read the Valentine's Day comic as a Kirk/Spock shipper:

Jim mentions Spock on his first date with a woman.

Jim questions his life choices as he thinks about Spock and IDIC philosophy.

Jim does with Laura everything we see him doing in TOS show, except for playing chess (just the thing he does with Spock).

Jim says Laura and him are a good team in Starfleet because they had a lot of sex (is that true about other people he works well with??)

There haven't been many ladies or gentlemen in Jim's life because he's busy (not because he's not into men, apparently).

"Starfleet is getting a lot better at partners of equal rank working together." Good for your future with Spock, Jim!

If Jim and Laura got married, they could both teach at Starfleet Academy, something Jim is totally going to do with Spock someday.

Mister "I am something of an expert on the subject of James T. Kirk" Spock.

Also, Mister "I believe someone of equal status would offer you the best possible chance of happiness" Spock, which is actual foreshadowing of his own future status with Jim.

Hey, look at Jim reading a book that reminds him of his lost love! I wonder where I've seen LITERALLY THE SAME PICTURE???

"Don't 'Admiral' me". This is totally not similar to what Jim tells Spock in The Voyage Home, of course.

Hey, we're both captains now! Just for a few days, but isn't that great? I wonder if anyone else is a captain now, and forever? :D

"I have been and always shall be your Valentine". Totally not a Kirk/Spock line, I don't know what you're talking about! :)

Okay, okay, that's all.

As a Kirk/Spock shipper, I won't deny that I'm a little jealous of this Valentine's Day special comic, because I wish we could get something with amazing art like this where Jim is in love with Spock. On the other hand, Star Trek: Year Five comic series has a few scenes about Jim & Spock's friendship that I really liked. Platonic, sure, but good enough for my K/S goggles!

Thank you so much for reading this post until the end! I hope you enjoyed my analysis! Live long and prosper!

[jennelikejennay]

Philon Awards nominations close in three days!

I have no idea how many people are even submitting nominations for these, but anybody can, and since a work only needs (I think) three nominations to make the shortlist, it's a chance to get fics you loved in front of more people. Here are the details.

I got mine in today and really struggled, to be honest. There has been a LOT of good k/s fic in the past year and I have read SO MUCH of it. So instead of telling y'all which ones I nominated, I'm going to share my whole shortlist...in the hopes that some of you nominate the ones I couldn't!

For the short (under 10k) fic category:

And Filled With Tomorrows, by AndroidAndAle: just a soft and sweet City on the Edge of Tomorrow fic.

Gonna Show Her Life on Earth Can Be Sweet, by thembonesthembones: very smutty with weird biology. You know me. Sweet Talk, by CampySpaceSlime: the invention of infodumping kink. Deny, Deny, Deny by Maelstrom: Spock pretends he doesn't like sex and Jim has to make him admit it Beyond repair, by spirkme: just them comforting each other after an away mission gone wrong leaves them both traumatized

I'm a big name in deep space (ask your mates) by cicak: this starts off the amazing series Where One Man Has Gone Before. I would rec them all, but probably easiest to start at the beginning.

Long fic (10k-50k)

When in Paradise, by flipthebits: infiltrating a cult has never been so accurate

Wanna be the one that you wanna see, by Affixjoy: sex pollen over and over again till they figure things out

Bells on a Hill, by flippyspoon: maybe the sweetest pon farr fic ever?

Way From Within, by gunstreet: the SNW timeloop story

Please don't take him just because you can, by spaceisgay: why yes it IS based on Jolene, and it's full of telepathy

Novel length (50k+)

I Shall Do Neither, by OnWhatCaptain: do you like crying? this story will torture you but it's so so good

Bodyguard by BurningAmber: an AU where Spock is Jim's bodyguard and there's a big telepathic cat thing

Anodyne by Lizzie0305: a really long and hot pon farr fic

Of Trees and Telepathy by StupidCat: weird aliens and telepathic trees, what's not to like Regulatory Relations by indeedcaptain: Kirk and Spock get married for convenience. Next thing you know things are getting incredibly deep and heavy.

Quell the Cosmic Tides, by Plus3Charisma: at the end of the second AOS movie, Jim suddenly travels back in time to his first day at the Academy. He's driven to do better this time around. Self Recs:

Here are a few I wrote in the past year that are eligible.

Short fic

The Sight of a Touch, or the Scent of a Sound: the "telepathy is like synesthesia" fic

Medium length

Another of Devotion's Casualties: probably my favorite fic I ever wrote; an examination of warrior bonds and devotion

Novel length

Personally I would recommend The Recitation of Names, which is a prequel to the TOS episode Obsession.

But a lot of people told me they liked The Exiles better, which is where I took the 2009 movie and made it so much worse. People find it emotionally cathartic and uplifting though? Whether you nominate or not, hopefully this provides some good reading for a while!

[samthetrekkie]

for having watched this movie at least twice before (albeit several years ago), I recalled surprisingly little of the plot. and so did my dad, who had once watched this with me! I used to think this was my favorite tos movie and I think the reason was bc this movie needs the smallest tos context. like it's objectively a - not super inventive - but thrilling and interesting plot. I also only now realized how much this movie made parallels to the end of the cold war and overall had some really good dialogue, which, let's be honest, not all of tos has.

but I think the reason it's not my favorite tos movie anymore, is bc I now do have the context and for a star trek movie, it was pretty weak when it comes to the characters. and tos is especially character-driven (to the point were the same 2-3 characters are protagonists in each episode). and I find that really interesting bc I do like all of the tos crew, but I also need that kirk/spock relationship thrown into my face again and again. and there was very little of that this time (not nothing though) and each character had kind of important roles to play. I don't want to say this is the only tos movie that operated like that, but I do notice it more in this one as I used to think this was the best movie.

anyway, there were still a few things I liked about the character portrayal in this. kirk and spock seemed to have some bigger issues prior to this as kirk seemed to be pissed off and distant with spock the whole time. and you can't tell me this was just bc of the assignment with the klingons. kirk felt like spock had personally attacked him with this assignment and spock seemed really confused, probably thinking he had given kirk an interesting last mission. so in my headcanon, their seem to have separated at this point :( but later on I really enjoyed how unusually angry spock got when he found out valeris was the one responsible for getting kirk convicted and had ultimately put his life in danger. there was a certain level of guilt in there too, as spock had been the one to get them into this mission in the first place. and kirk having pretty much forgiven spock in rura penthe of all places, was really surprised to see spock's behavior and even felt bad for it, so it seems. he was not even initiating the kiss with iman's character! (also very interesting alien concept, similar to changelings, when it comes to gender.) in general he seemed almost never interested in any of the women in the movies, which I have mentioned before, but I love as it fits right into my headcanon :) but mccoy's "what is it with you" after the kiss was still amazing as it summed up the entirety of kirk's obsessive womanizing behavior in tos. generally, mccoy had the best one-liners ever in this. and he was by far not the most prejudiced one in this movie. and he was actually really nice to spock the entire time and seemed relatively tame in general. do we see a little character change caused by the last movie…? I still don't see mccoy and kirk being a thing, but mccoy and spock on the other hand…

I won't take this any further and rather conclude my tos walkthrough for good now (even though some of the characters appear in other series and movies again). I thought it was really interesting to see the changes the decades made on sci fi and to watch it with a person who actually lived through those decades.

I have to say tos really is up there now in the star trek ranking for me, maybe even above tng. (but we'll watch that next, so this view might change very soon.) spock (as played by nimoy) is certainly one of my top 3 star trek characters and I think that says a lot for a show that was written in the 60s. (the other one is seven and I have no idea who the third one is, but... we got all the autistic-coded ones up there, don't we.)

I'm so glad we have so much to go when it comes to star trek, though! even if it'll take us several years, now that I've counted it… (there is some shows and movies I will skip, though.)

[bardicious]

Spock's SNW Human-isms (Apparently an Essay)

This has gotta be one of my favorite parts of the episode. Everyone's already talked about Boimler's polite way of telling Chapel her and Spock's relationship is doomed and not worthy of note in the history books. Versus Spock and Kirk's legendary friendship romance T'hy'la status.

I am on the one hand, upset that Spirk will never be fully canon (because paramount is weak and so are it's homophobic fans), but delighted they're not really banking on the easy "Chapel was Spock's true love all along" because that would be fuckin disingenuous as hell, if you've watched ANY TOS episode or movie. Like, absolutely ridiculous. Beyond insane, and I can understand why it worries fans watching SNW. (though I think the reaction to them having any relationship is a bit much and childish).

Anyway, seeing Spock's early life and his fight between his supposed "human side" and "vulcan side" is such a big aspect of his early character. I get the impression that Spock fought hard to be Vulcan while he was growing up there, but held resentment to not being able to show his mother the "human" affection he thought she deserved. He saw her being ridiculed, her loneliness, his own loneliness when he couldn't fit in, and it broke his heart. A war between his emotions and his duties constantly firing. So enough is enough, he leaves Vulcan, because it's not right for him. And joins starfleet.

Starfleet's motto is accepting all kinds of people and understanding them. But lets be real, starfleet accepts Spock's skill, but not his personality or behaviors. He generally gets along with his crewmembers, but they don't really know him. Barring a few exceptions, maybe Captain Pike? But also not really. Captain Pike loves Spock, but my impression is he doesn't always get him. Not like Jim will.

Chapel gives the same vibes. She says she accepts Spock for who he is. But she likes the idea of the human!Spock inside of him. His human side who understood her better. Who, honestly, I think she would have kept if she was less ethical. But she's not. She's a good person, and that's not who Spock is, so it's not what she wants. But it's still this ideal of Spock she's grasping to. Of course, she doesn't want a more human Spock, that's a cruel thing to say, to think even. But ultimately Spock will never given her the behavior and emotional support she's looking for. It's just not there.

My impression of SNW Spock is that, he likes both T'Pring and Chapel, they're his friends, he loves them like a friend would, he protects them like a friend would. But both Chapel and T'Pring personify his human and vulcan ideals. They're the embodiment of what he should want. Not what he actually wants.

And once Chapel breaks his heart (possibly to "save" his amazing future), he will discard his attempts at "human" behavior. Begin to resent it. Hell, get a little racist with it. LMAO (Thinking of his interactions with McCoy - who's so human, or so willing to show his emotions, it irks Spock, because he tried that!)

It will be the crux of his feelings of shame. With Jim. Who's friendship and love is so important to him. But he just can't do it again. Quite possibly, maybe he should never try to love anyone again, because he's tried, and both options were so obviously wrong. How can he possibly fit in with another being?

But he can, because Jim's actually quite a vulcan human in some ways. Duty is the name of Jim's game. The greater good. The way Jim has decided to look at his own life and his family, and decided to take his experiences in a logical capacity rather than the emotional one Sam has taken everything in. Spock and Kirk are compatible, so naturally, that Spock and Kirk never had to try, they just know each other and understand each other. AND damn, everything about SNW just confirms Spirk, but I wish ffs, that they would "canonize" it.

[t0ast-ghost]

Umm STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE THOUGHTS!!!!

You thought this series was dead and buried? Well maybe it is. This may stay in my drafts forever. But I suppose if you’re reading this it’s not.

Warnings for a flashing gif

and spoilers (obviously)

So enjoy and forward we go:

- They kinda just make you watch stars with nice background music for *checks time* two minutes and fifty seconds (no, there are no credits during this time)

- I’m so hyped for this, the credit music is so nostalgic and amazing

- Tron ass graphics <3

- Evolved Klingon design! Let’s go! Also they’re speaking Klingon which I think star trek is super proud of creating

- It’s so alien (as in the movie alien)

- Is that the lizard head rock from the Apple? No it’s Vulcan- damn what’d they do to Spock?

- It’s giving the dark crystal or labyrinth

- THEYVE GOT A VULCAN LANGUAGE?! I mean I knew they would but they created one for the first movie???

- When the Vulcan Master (it’s what imdb calls her) is reading Spock’s mind then the shot goes back to her face and she looks down and there’s a fucking vine boom and she smiles slightly at him like ‘THIS FUCKER IS HAVING GAY THOUGHTS’

- Jim is calling him <3

- It’s interesting how they pronounce Spock’s name differently

- Life is a Dream is my favourite song (It’s the one with the horns)

- Omg hi Kirk hi

- They gave him another Vulcan? Kirk must miss his husband so much

- imagine ten years after your favourite show ends, they make a movie and there are all your favourite guys again! I would have screamed

- Hiya Scotty

- Kirk looks so unhappy. Hmmm wonder why

- Aww this is such a cute conversation between Kirk and Scotty

- KIRK GETS TEARS IN HIS EYES SEEING THE NEW ENTERPRISE OMG. HE LOVES HER SM

- This is the slowest fucking shuttle ever

- I like how there’s just guys floating in spacesuits around

- ….Welp that’s over now. The ship has docked. Finally.

- oh the elevators are just voice controlled now. No handles.

- OMG HI UHURA!!! HI CHECKOV! HI SULU!!!

- Kirk’s about to go fire someone. This’ll be fun.

- Yeah Decker does not take this well. Kirk is just a petty bitch who loves his ship too much and definitely misses his husbands

- WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? Wha- who- no wonder people don’t like using transporters that’s horrifying

- OMG THATS JANICE RAND!!!

- Kirk has turned into the idiot admiral that he used to hate dealing with

- OMG HIIIII BONES HES GOT A BEARD. They drafted him???? Wait no. JIM BROUGHT HIM BACK hehe

- “Damn it, Bones. I need you. Badly!” He missed his husband so he made him come back to fight a war

- That was such a normal moment between Kirk and McCoy. Sooo normal. I’m normal about it. Sooo normal.

- THAT LITTLE DUDE IN SPACE JUST DID A FLIP

- hi bones hi

- “Jim. You’re pushing.”

- They gave McCoy a better perch, he’s got a railing that’s closer to Kirk now

- time to ask: what is happening

- “Tor-pe-do away!” The slow voice really added to that

- Why is McCoy just there on his knees?!?

- Bones is NOT happy to be here. This is why he divorced Kirk (he’s still married to Spock though)

- McCoy can see that Jim is being unreasonable. But what is that stance and why aren’t they looking into each others eyes? (Edit: not sure what stance I’m talking about but yeah, why aren’t they?)

- It’s been 50 minutes literally nothing has happened except reintroductions

- HI SPOCK HIII HES SO HOT WHATS HE DOING HERE?

- damn why’d Spock just ignore Chekov like that

- Jim is so desperate. He wants this man so bad. He’s like literally starry eyed

- For Chekov this is like the worst high school reunion ever

- HI CHAPEL HAIII

- damn why is Spock ignoring his husbands :(((

- Bones looks so sad. He missed Spock

- Kirk and McCoy are about to interrogate their long gone ex husband. “Will you please sit down.” This is pretty much exactly what it would be like if they got divorced and didn’t see each other for awhile. Spock is trying to separate his emotions from the situation, McCoy is trying to be playful but sneaks in a question about what he’s been doing, and Kirk just wants them back he’s so desperate

- Not gonna say what I’m thinking cause I think that would be disrespectful

- “I believe they may hold my answers.” “Well, isn’t it lucky for you that we just happened to be heading your way?” “Bones! We need him. I need him.” Jim if you say that while staring into Spock’s eyes it’s a bit queer (happy pride month)

- They got the new Apple watches

- Spock is pulling a Deanna Troi

- They brought back Spock to wear the finest eyeshadow and serve silent cunt

- Shapes and colours by the likes of which I’ve never seen!

- I like how Bones just came onto the bridge FOR NO REASON but to kinda look shocked when Kirk was about to do something silly

- Most of this movie feels like, ‘look at this cool set/effects thing for a very long time’ and they are cool

- I now truly understand what a ‘long shot’ is

- Uh oh Kirk. Your husband got zapped!

- huh? whuh? Why’d it take Ilia?

- Everyone that comes onto the bridge takes a second to go what the f-

- Wow that’s just a pussy- *gets schmacked*

- Did Spock just fucking blue screen?

- just noticed Kirk in short sleeves <3

- ILIA BURST THROUGH THE WALL

- Why did they replicate her into high heels

- I love Star Treks idea that love can bring anyone back. Like if anyone is dead and someone loves them enough there’s no way they’re staying dead. And if you bring up Tasha, technically she didn’t die right there and then. And if you bring up Jadzia, fuck you

- What is Spock doing, why’s he mutineering

- They successfully contacted Ilia. There’s something so sad about it being her but not her at all

- Omg. Spock why would you do that?

- “That’s Spock. Damn him! Bring him back here.” Gotta wrangle your husbands

- I was going to say something about pussy and then Spock said “penetrated” so-

- Pussy so good you get blasted backwards- I’ve got to stop

- Spock laughing omg omg

- jaw dropped. That was gay. That was so gay!

- I like how Kirk just has these two guys around to explain things to him

- “It knows only that it needs, commander, but like so many of us, it does not know what.” Do you need something, Spock? What are you trying to say? Do you need the love of your husbands?

- HES JUST GONNA BLOW UP THE SHIP???

- I got legitimately jumpscared by Spock’s tear

He’s really pretty tho and they’re observing him

- “Is this all that I am? Is there nothing more?” This is the greatest moment in the whole movie thus far because it goes back to really what star trek is about. Talking about life through aliens.

- He’s bringing his husbands with him awwe

- woah how are they on top of the enterprise?!Okay I guess this is happening now

- VOYAGER??????????? Oh wait this is a real ship, isn’t it?

- So Decker is going to sacrifice himself to join with V’Ger, isn’t he?

- He rolls back to his husbands

- “As much as you wanted the Enterprise, I want this.” Jim did really want the enterprise, but he also just wanted love, same with Decker, they both just want their loves back.

- Shiny

- Kirk and McCoy staring, jaws dropped like, ‘What is this shit?’

- “And a lot of foolish human emotions, right, Mr. Spock?” “Quite true, Doctor. Unfortunately we will have to deal with them as well.” THEY’RE FLIRTING AGAIN YES!!!!

- It’s a little funny that Spock definitely arrived on the ship ready to stay. Like he cut his hair and everything just to see his husbands.

- “The human adventure is just beginning” what does THAT mean?

Well okay. Time to watch Wrath of Khan, I guess. I hear it’s better…

Masterpost

[spirkme915]

I made the decision to be extra-judicious on deciding what constituted a spoiler for the new season of Strange New Worlds and I'm sticking with that.

But I have thoughts and I’ve spent way too much time thinking about them for a season and a half and I can’t hold them in anymore. So here you go.

Definite spoilers for episode 5 and everything before it under the cut. TL;DR at the very bottom of this way too long post.

Episode 5 was an absolute banger of an episode in terms of Hollywood entertainment value. But, and this is a big BUT, what the actual hell are the writers doing?

The Christine/Spock/T’Pring love triangle is tarnishing the gift that was given to Trek fans when Strange New Worlds was announced and it's becoming way too obvious not to comment on.

It’s maddening that they’ve decided to take a thirty second scene of a one-sided crush from the original series (Chapel confessing her love for Spock in The Naked Time) and turned it into a two-sided love affair that's part of a love triangle. It is, quite literally, derailing what is otherwise an incredible show.

I hear you asking… Seriously? Aren’t you being extreme? How could a consensual affair do that? Or.... You're a Spirk blog. Aren't you biased? Oh boy, I wish it were that simple. This is coming from a literal lifelong Trek fan who had Trouble with Tribbles memorized before I had an inkling what romance even was, and who - fortunately - was taught by my Trekkie father what made good writing.

The love triangle is not good Trek or good writing.

For reasons that likely have to do with Spock being arguably the most well known character in Star Trek canon (pop culture wise), the writers have chosen to focus on him. And what kind of storyline can they give us since Spock goes through a massive, decades long character arc in the original series and movies? (Spoiler alert, I answer that at the end and it's not a love triangle.)

For reasons that likely have to do with Peck’s appearance and natural charisma, they’ve decided to give Spock love interests - not just one but two.

Let’s ignore that Spock doesn’t show interest in either Christine or T’Pring in the original series. Really, that’s the least of the problems and easily explained away.

Where the problems arise are two fold - Spock’s emotional journey and the minimization of two strong female characters to love interests.

Spock’s emotional journey - As great as parts of this episode were (looking at you, Amanda), what it achieved was Spock coming to terms with his human side in a way that the Spock we know from the original series hasn’t accepted. It takes original series Spock until The Motion Picture (perhaps not until after The Voyage Home), to be comfortable in being both human and Vulcan. So the ground Spock gained in this episode? Strange New Worlds, if it continues as part of the prime timeline, can only result in character regression for Spock. As a fan of Spock in all iterations, that regression will be a heartbreaking and horrible way to end a hopeful show.

Christine and T’Pring as love interests - Dear god, can these women exist without being defined by a man please? It’s 2023. This shouldn’t be something female characters have to ask for. Sure, there was more about Christine in this episode, but her arc still revolved around Spock. And not only that, but we got the Korby name drop in this episode (her future fiancé). I'd love to think that this isn't headed in a direction where Christine will hook up with Spock then he’ll pull away and she jumps ship to Korby only to be defined again by a man. But for fuck's sake, this last season and a half hasn't given me much hope. Jess Bush is amazing as Christine. Is it too much to let Christine be her own woman? And T’Pring? I adore T'Pring way more in Strange New Worlds than I expected to. So, please, help a Vulcan woman out. T’Pring is already relegated to nothing in the narrative after Amok Time.  If there’s going to be an insistence on bringing her into the story can she please not be defined by Spock then Stonn? I'm BEGGING the Strange New Worlds writers - let these characters and actors shine as fully realized women.

But the larger problem is that this single decision for a love triangle has not only fated these three characters to regression and minimization - IT'S DIMMING THE POSSIBILITIES FOR EVERYONE.

When Strange New Worlds was announced, there were so many possibilities. A whole new part of canon to be explored and expanded. NEW CHARACTERS, NEW PLACES, NEW MORAL QUANDARIES, NEW EXPLORATIONS.

But we only get 10 episodes a season, right? Not the 26ish we got with the original series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. (Discovery, I'm looking at you and weeping too.)

So, why are the writers insisting on episodes focusing on an unnecessary love triangle when they could be doing this:

Uhura - Hello? SHE'S RIGHT THERE AND CELIA IS INCREDIBLE. The original series is notorious for brushing Uhura under the rug and other people can speak way more intelligently on Uhura meta than I can. But, I mean, she didn't even have a canon first name until 2009. So. Yeah. Good news, Strange New Worlds can change all of that. Build her history, show us her successes, her fears, her failings, glimpses into her past. Give her a chance to have a dalliance with the "alien of the week." Uhura is a beloved character for so so so many wonderful reasons. Give us the stories about her that deepen that love.

Erica - Oh, Erica. My beloved Erica. Paramount PR keeps saying that last week's episode was "Erica's Big Moment" and if it truly was her biggest moment of the season, then I weep for her and Melissa Navia. All we learned in that episode was that she's Erica Ortegas and she flies the ship (and, well, that Navia has a depth in her they haven't let her show with Erica so far). Erica does pilot and flies really goddamn well, but we already knew that. What about her time in the Klingon War? What about her family? Her friends off the ship? What was it that either made her determined to become the best pilot or that happened in her past that inspired her to become that pilot? How does she feel about being on the Enterprise? How does she feel about soup or carpet or art? There's nothing, literally NOTHING, in future canon about her and right now her Memory Alpha entries for her life before Strange New Worlds is seven sentences. SEVEN SENTENCES. All of this for a fan favorite character. *sigh*

Sam - The potential for this character is limitless and all we've really gotten is him touching something he shouldn't have, being xenophobic to Spock, and that he doesn't pick up his dirty dishes. Seriously? We know more about Jim Kirk in Strange New Worlds and he's not even on the Enterprise or in the same timeline! When we rewatch Operation Annihilate, give us a reason to mourn with Jim. Make that episode a billion times worse because Sam is a character that we know and care about outside of being Jim's brother.

Pike - Okay, so admittedly, Pike is probably the most fleshed out character besides Spock in canon and they're not shying away from the future he knows is coming. That's been handled really well. And they've also done a great job of showing how much Pike cares. But, what makes Pike one of the "great captains" and how has his past turned him into who he is today (the canon pieces with his father have so much possibility) and what is he doing behind the scenes to fight for his crew and his ship? I feel like we got more of the "great captain" in Discovery than we've gotten in Strange New Worlds. And, dear god again with the "romance," can his love interest get a canon first name please? Hard to buy he loves her when he calls her Captain Batel even in his personal log.

Una - She was pretty much a canonical blank slate going into Strange New Worlds and they've done some incredible episodes with her, but I'd love to see her actually be the XO? Making that a question because she absolutely is, but we have yet to really see that in practice. The relationship between Pike and Una deserves so so much more screen time. Let them be captain and first officer. Explore Pike mentoring her, and give way more of her mentoring crew. Let her be more than Illyrian. What are the unique challenges she faces as the highest ranked woman and non-Human on the ship? Is she a fighter or a negotiator or some secret third thing? Does she have an intricate knowledge of some space anomaly or ship function that no one else on board does? What are her future goals and plans? I'm rambling now, but the point is that she's a character who disappears from canon after Strange New Worlds and she's the goddamn FIRST OFFICER OF THE ENTERPRISE. Let her be that until she isn't anymore.

La’An and M'Benga - Honestly, I'm not going to put much here for La'An because out of all the "new" characters in Strange New Worlds, La'An has been fleshed out the most. And, out of all the "barely exists in canon" characters, M'Benga is the same. But I'm listing them because they make my point. La'An and M'Benga are good examples of what happens when the writers focus on characters who either don't exist in canon or barely exist there. We know pieces of their backstory and their motivations. We know what keeps them up at night. Both actors have given performances that tie the audience to their characters emotionally. And yet, there's seasons worth of more material for both of them.

So. To come back to my original point - why are the writers focusing on a love triangle that tramples on canon and minimizes female characters when they are wealthy af with primo characters?

I mean, there are so many other ways they could have gone with Christine (making her bisexuality more than a one-off line, having her struggle with what happened on the Farragut, exploring her role during the Klingon War, family, friends, facing moral quandaries in her research...), and Spock (his relationship with Sarek, Vulcan rituals and practices we've never seen ((double parentheses here to emphasize that to us, as viewers, Vulcan *is* a strange new world and there's still a hell of a lot of Vulcan stuff that's veiled in mystery)), and MICHAEL ((remember Michael, his sister, who got a one line mention in the first episode then nothing?? Yeah, that Michael)), Spock's grief over losing Hemmer and Michael so closely together, etc...). Poor T'Pring is pretty much relegated to love interest and plot device at this point unfortunately. Instead of the love triangle route, they could've cut the sex scenes and made her a cool, calculating advisor to Spock and the Angel/Sybok plotline could've still happened. But alas, was not meant to be.

I've written a lot of words and taken up way too much of my day with this, but I seriously couldn't hold it in any longer. Look, I love Strange New Worlds, but I also seriously grieve for the show that it could've been and I seriously hope it will become that show in future seasons.

Strange New Worlds is gorgeous, the sets and special effects are A+, the actors are all pretty too and know how to command a scene. There's a lot to work with. But let's not forget that the original series was put together with styrofoam, glitter, and a prayer and it birthed this 60 year franchise. What kept people coming back to Trek were the relationships and a found family working together to explore, not a forced love triangle.

TL;DR

The insistence on the Christine/Spock/T'Pring love triangle is dooming all of their characters to massive character regression and minimization *and* cheating us out of learning about and loving the characters who are practically unknown in canon.

[friends-to-lovers-tournament]

Friends to Lovers Tournament: Round 1, Side B, Match 31

propaganda under the cut!

Kirk/Spock:

Submission 1

They're the ogs. They're in every tumblr ship poll. They spend five years making love eyes at each other, have a massive messy breakup, get back together after 2.8 years and get married. They're idiots and I love them. They invented every trope. I've written so much propaganda for these guys I've lost all ability to be coherent. Just trust me on this and put them in, they'll get far

Submission 2

They are so gentle and teasing with each other. They work side by side and then when their shifts are over they still hang out together and play chess and such. They respect the hell out of one another and trust each other completely. They're literal soul mates. T'hy'la forever :) <3 

Ellemmett: 

I'm a musical theater fan and Elle and Emmett's relationship is so much more developed and considered in the musical than in the movie.

They have an ARC. It's ADORABLE. Emmett is the one to really help Elle get grounded and focused on doing well in school rather than impressing Warner. 

Emmett was the only one to respect her when she arrived at Harvard, which is why he helps her focus. He saw her potential INSTANTLY, and made her feel welcome despite everyone else saying she didn't belong. 

She was SO HAPPY for him when Callahan offered the associate position to Emmett just like he was for her when she got the internship its amazing 

He doesn't take credit for her success. He knew she had it in her and he just helped her see it. He says he "happy to be there" when seeing her thrive, it's amazing the amount of respect Emmett has for her.

They have a "She's Everything. He's just Ken" vibe to them. Elle is this super duper bubbly excitable kind young woman and Emmett is straight up just some guy. 

Their on stage chemistry was SO GOOD, Laura Bell Bundy and Christian Borle (the actors) had a real life affair with each other. 

[fangirleaconmigo]

A big part of taking care of someone who is sick is just keeping them company because it is so isolating.

So I have sped through a lot of media this past few months while sitting with my sister. And I’ve read while waiting in the hospital and doctors offices.

Here’s the new stuff I’ve just watched and read: (if you wanna talk more about any of them hmu in the ask box. It may take me awhile to answer but I want the asks even so!)

Watched

Barbie. I loved how weird this was. We need more weird blockbusters. I loved seeing a creative team with so many women win so big.

The Bear. This show was a little too real but so well done. I would die for Syd. My sister and I have incorporated “Heard, chef” and “Yes, Chef” into our daily lexicon.

Good Omens S2. When I tell you I was SCREAMIN at the finale. Season three is not a want, it is a need. Right up there with oxygen. Bless Tennant, bless Sheen, bless Gaiman, Netflix hear our prayers.

Breaking Bad rewatch. My thoughts could fill a novel. If anyone wants more, drop an ask. But for these purposes, my only thought is that I will never comprehend people who watched this for Walter White and not for Jessie Pinkman.

Justified Primeval: Deeply enjoyed watching Raylan Givens tussle with a child just like him 😂. Also his chemistry with Carolyn was fuckn fire, I loved the ‘grown an sexy’ vibe. And YESSSS to that epilogue.

What We Do in the Shadows (tho not the finale yet) I will be completely honest I watch this for Guillermo de la Cruz. No thots head empty just Guillermo.

The Witcher S3: My sister actually actively dislikes the show 😂😂😭 so I wasn’t gonna watch it to the sound of her unsolicited critique. So, I went to my friends house to watch it. But turned out my friend’s Husband Joined Us. He is nice but he talked over it SO MUCH. (Like did you know that some of the buildings don’t have windows in the wide shots but then in internal shots, windows galore??) Bless his heart. Point being, I need to watch again.

Ladies First. I’m a big fan of women in hip hop so this documentary series was a MUST. It was great but it left me wanting more. I want a series for every year of women in hip hop. Incredible. Also I found some new artists to listen to.

Pacific Rim rewatch. The movie is just as much fun ten years later. The concept of drift compatibility is top fucking shelf my friends. Top. Fuckn. Shelf. Also, is this the only GDT movie where the monsters are actually the bad guys? 😂 I think it is.

Heartstopper. I watched this mostly because I wanted to spend time (virtually, alas) with my fandom wife and she is obsessed with this show. Glad queer teens have this. The main actors have amazing chemistry, and are super lovable and talented.

One Piece live action. I needed something lighter after being gutted by Breaking Bad so I turned to this show. Am now obsessed with Roronoa Zoro.

I Read:

Pageboy, Elliot Page

Under the Whispering Door, TJ Klune.

Velvet is the Night, Silvia Moreno Garcia

I am Spock, Leonard Nimoy

The Entire Murderbot Diaries series re-read for like the seventh time. This is like my therapy. By Martha Wells.

[thegeminisage]

STAR TREK UPDATE TIME. saturday we did voy's "basics part ii" and "flashback," and last night we did voy's "the chute" and "the swarm." not really last night changed bc i am writing this at fuck o clock its going up tmrw w/o me but w/e

basics part ii:

this one was fine. or rather the a-plot of this was boring, the b-plot fucking ruled

like, what do i care about the surface of this planet? ik there's a whole season that happens after this, nobody important is gonna die. even the critter was no that interesting

also, FUCK the baby not really being chakotay's. i was so fucking devastated. i wanted him to have a little guy sooo bad. they gave it to me and then snatched it away. imagine how he must feel...the whole ship in danger to save the kid that wasn't really his, and two people DIED in the process. the a-plot was terrible.

but ohhh the doctor and lon suder taking on the kazons alone. mwah.

first of all, what a match-up. the doctor can't be killed or harmed, not really, not the way suder used to enjoy hurting people. so that puts them on totally even terms

secondly, the fact that suder FINALLY almost overcame his violent impulses and now he has no choice BUT to give into them for a cause greater than his own needs (to have peace with himself)...that's juicy stuff. his struggle when he came back after killing that one guy was absolutely incredible.

finally, i love that out of any two people who could be stuck on voyager, you get the idea that these two people had the best chance of doing what they did. like the doctor is quite literally PART of the computer that runs the ship, and suder has all the violent impulses of his former life now combined with tuvok's methodical nature and his own hard-earned patience. truly a force to be reckoned with. it doesn't really push your suspension of disbelief when he takes out all those guys at once because part of him has been waiting to do that for a looong time

genuinely i'm only disappointed they killed him...a character like this could have EASILY been a regular. i'll miss him so much

flashback:

I LOVED THIS ONE.......

the undiscovered country was not my favorite tos movie by far (it ranks near the bottom actually) but i wish i had skimmed it at least before watching this. the movie footage being there was so so fun, and JANICE RAND! i'm always so happy to see her turn up, she deserved so much better, even if most of her tos scenes did annoy me to death

anyway, imagine being in a show and 30 years later they are calling you on the phone asking if you would like to do another episode of the show. star trek really is so unique in that regard, very few franchises have that same kind of staying power. m*rvel who? get the fuck out of here.

i looooooved getting more of tuvok's backstory. i think it's really hilarious that spock's parents almost disowned him when he joined starfleet but after that vulcan parents are like pressuring their kids to join to be more like him. poor spock and poor tuvok i wish they could have met onscreen just once

janeway in the old uniform!!!!!!!! she looked amazing

mixed feelings about janeway's speech about how things were different in the tos era and that's why sometimes they didn't do the prime directive. actually, it's funny because i got a little huffy at her "they were quicker to reach for their phasers" comment like GIRL NO THEY WEREN'T and then like the very next day i watched "taste of armageddon" where kirk did immediately start blasting because the disintegration chambers triggered his tarsus iv trauma and had to reluctantly forgive her

that said. spock mention.

the chute:

something lgbt happened on star trek voyager...i don't ship this couple because i'm still kirby with a gun re: tom paris, but i'm incredibly happy for people who do. i think about how i would have been if this had been chakotay and janeway instead (besdie myself) and i just KNOW the harry/tom shippers were eating

i wish harry kim got more to do...he had a little more this time but his solo scenes didn't have much meat to them, it was his scenes w tom paris that really stood out

and like i didn't hate those scenes, but the "shitty hellhole prison" plot itself also kind of bored me, because we just saw a far superior version of this happen to o'brien on ds9 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and to me one half of tom/harry is kinda boring and never gets his chance to shine, and the other is eternally on probation for being too annoying in season 1. so i had a hard time staying invested

that said it was very fun when janeway came down through the hole guns blasting. now who's playing cowboy, captain?

the swarm:

this was another one where the a-plot sucked and the b-plot ruled

i know janeway doesn't wanna add another 15 months, but man, come ON...it was very dumb not to go around. it was even dumber to not go around WHILE YOUR DOCTOR WAS BROKEN. take a few days to fix him and THEN go. also WHAT HAPPENED TO HER IDEALS? the showrunner really needed to keep this shit straight this was wildly out of character for her. that plus constantly brushing off kes...not her finest episode tbqh

the doc losing his memory was great though. kes is SO kind to advocate for him as she does and she and b'elanna were just great in general. kes even gave him a little kissy!! treat him really niceys: the episode

the other doctor hologram was really funny too although his usage of the "it" pronoun made me flash back to my rage when people did that to data during tng

it was actually so true to life how people with dementia act...kes did a great job of keeping him calm until the end :(

and the humming!!! i can't believe they left it there, but i suppose the implication is he gets it all back. and what a breath-taking spot to end it, honestly

TONIGHT: ds9's "apocalypse rising" and voy's "false profits" (i read the summary and good god someone HELP me)

[crazyk-imagine]

Subscription Blurb

Based on this post

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Why’d we decide to do Christmas together again?” Javy asks.

Natasha raises a brow. “Why?”

“He hasn’t found a gift for our secret Santa,” Mickey chimes in.

“He kept saying he was busy every time we asked and now, he’s struggling,” Bob adds.

She nods, now understanding his problems.

“Finally, I beat you at something.”

“Does that really sound like a brag worthy thing?” She asks Jake.

“He’s always going on about how he's always got a plan and now he doesn’t while me, the amazing guy that I am does, yeah I’m gonna brag.” He smacks Javy’s shoulder. “How’s it feel?”

“Like a sin.”

“Here’s a Bible,” Bradley says, lifting one up for his friend.

“Where’d that come from?” Bob asks.

The mustached man shrugs, “I found it in the drawer.” He points to the night stand behind him.

Callie nods. “Right.”

“What? Did you guys think I just walked around with a Bible on me at all times? How dirty do you think I am?”

“We didn’t want to assume,” Mickey adds.

“Yeah, you know, we don’t judge,” Neal chimes in, closing the door behind him as he sets the food down on the nearest table.

“So, you guys think I’m a slut?”

“We prefer to use the term manwhore,” Jake tells him, snacking on a French fry.

“Of course, you would. You’re on the cover of them.”

“Hey, hey. Don’t hate if I have game and you don’t.”

“So, did everyone get a chance to figure out what they needed to get for their secret Santa?” Reuben asks, staring as the host of the Christmas party.

“I think everyone smart enough to walk in with something instead of coming in empty handed did,” Bob says.

“You never know.”

The bespectacled man shrugs, knowing he’s right.

“Who’s going first?”

No one raises their hand and the person beside him all nudge their seating partner.

“Okay, I’m pulling names out of a hat if we’re going that route.” Neal went first and he had-

“A mustache comb?” Bradley reads out loud, checking out the box.

“Yep.”

“I don’t hate it.”

“Everyone knew you’d love it,” Natasha tells him.

Next up was Callie and she had-

“A cocktail book.” Natasha opens the book and shakes her head. “And all the sugary “girly” drinks are bookmarked. Great, thanks, Cal.”

Mickey had Bob. “This is just for the nerds, but I found Star Trek uno and I know you don’t have a phaser, so I figured why not kill two birds with one stone and get you both.”

Bob’s eyes lit up when he opened the box and he actually saw the aforementioned items. “After this were playing uno and whoever doesn’t have Spock near the end of the round has to take a shot.”

“Damn, who knew Baby on Board could get intense,” Jake says, smiling as he pats the man’s arm.

“Shut up,” Mickey tells him.

Javy was next and he chose- “Logan, my man.”

The mentioned man raises his brows.

“Too much?”

The squad nods in unison.

“Alright, fine. Anyway, my gift for you and everyone here is me. Yeah,” he opens the envelope in his hands. “That’s it, yep.” He sucks in air through his teeth. “It’s another year of friendship, you, Logan, are the first to get your friendship membership has been renewed. Congratulations.”

Mickey raises his hand. “How do you cancel that transaction? I’m not feeling it this year.”

“Hey!” Jake stands up, holding his spiked egg nog (an old family recipe). “Seriously how do you do that? I don’t know if I want this to continue.”

Javy scoffs and shoves the man, who then trips over his own feet and manages to catch himself before he can fall on his face.

Natasha, Bob, Reuben, and Logan laugh until their stomachs hurt, and they can barely breath.

Bradley and Callie reach over to help the man regain his balance and make sure he sits down before he falls and potentially injures himself.

“Maybe we should just watch a movie or something,” Bob says.

“What are we watching?”

“Christmas!” The man in Christmas glasses (Jake) giggles in Callie's ear.

“Yeah. I know but if we could without the screaming and find a movie, lets.”

-

Taglist:

@blueoorchid @kmc1989

[systemadministratorclu]

Fandom asks meme

1, 11, 14!

1: list 3 positive things about your current fandom(s)

First, I'm in more obscure fandoms, so there's not much drama. People are more open to different things because they're just happy to see more stuff for the fandom

Second, most everyone I meet is someone that has been in the fandom for a while. People who really do connect with it and care about it (as opposed to people that just stop by while it's popular for a bit, but leave once the hype dies down)

Third, the fan content that exists for my fandoms is amazing. From detailed AUs to just further explaining something from canon to that joke thing someone claims they 'just HAD' to do, it's incredible and I love it.

11: if you're a writer or artist, what fic or piece of art are you proud of making?

Definitely all my stories in The ScholMander Files. There's really only two people that actually care about this series, but I've had so much fun talking with those two people about ideas for my own fics and theirs, and I've really enjoyed writing these. I've probably written more fics for this pairing than any other single author, and I've got more coming. Which leads to....

14: the ship that always makes you smile

There's a few for this, and a lot of it has to do with RPs here. It's a tie for me between:

☆ ScholMander (Milo Thatch/Commander Rourke from Atlantis: the Lost Empire) - This is probably the unicorn of the fandom in terms of how rare it is. But having written so much for it and even RPed it, this is now canon to me. These two are just so sweet to each other I'm surprised I don't have cavities yet. And it all started because I saw some photoedit fanart that had an image of Rourke with an arm around Milo and I couldn't stop thinking about that image. Now, they are canon to me.

☆ Clu x Tron/Rinzler (from.....uh.....Tron) - This is largely due to RP threads I've done on here. I honestly hadn't thought of this until I started RPing it with people here,but now I love it. Especially Clu and Tron as sort-of-parents for Beck. Ugh, the sweetness!

☆ Halman (Hal 9000/Dave Bowman from 2001: A Space Odyssey and its sequel movie/books) - This is probably the one canon ship I'm into, and yes it is very obviously canon, especially in the sequel movie 2010: The Year We Make Contact when they have the following exchange:

Hal 9000: What is going to happen? Dave Bowman: Something wonderful. Hal 9000: I'm afraid. Dave Bowman: Don't be. We'll be together. Hal 9000: Where will we be? Dave Bowman: Where I am now.

I mean, it's even more obvious than Spirk (which I also love) and that's saying something. Just the way these two care for each other is just so wholesome and sweet. It's the one ship I don't see much smut stuff for, and honestly, it doesn't need smut, it works so well. They are just so good to each other. Dave does not want to kill Hal, he does it because he has no choice and (my interpretation) he figured out at that point that something was wrong, that Hal was 'sick' and Dave didn't want to see this person he cares so much about suffering anymore. But when Hal is brought back in the sequel, Dave takes extra time during his short visit to check on Hal and make sure he's okay and ultimately saves him from a second death, after which they literally spend eternity together.

Honorable Mentions - Spirk (Spock/Kirk from Star Trek), Jack O'Neil/Sam Carter (Stargate SG1), Claire Finn/Isaac (The Orville), Ineffable Husbands (Aziraphale/Crowley from Good Omens, please don't comment about Season 2 as I haven't gotten to watch it yet), Yugi Mutou/Seto Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh), Yugi Mutou x Yami/Atem (Yu-Gi-Oh, Yami and Atem are the same person to me, just at different points in time.)

[burningfairytales]

Thanks for that Bokuto post of yours...! You're the first person that made me think more of Bokuto as a character (I have been Haikyuu fan since 2017 and Bokuto is in my top 5 fav Hq characters). Like, I never think that deep about him, until I read your mini meta....🌻🌷

Hope you don't mind if I ask from this ask game :

https://www.tumblr.com/threecheersforinking/677824836625694720/anime-ask-game?source=share

For series : Haikyuu, AFTG, Star Trek, and Once Upon a Broken Heart....

Ohhh, that is such an amazing compliment, thank you so much!

Also, it's a relief. Because I'm actually attempting writing fanfiction for the first time in years, and boy, it is not going great. I'm very much doubting my characterisation at literally every point, so.

As for your game, sure, I'll play! :)

Haikyuu:

Favorite Character: Bokuto-And-Akaashi. (sorry. they're joined at the hip. I literally cannot choose.) (If you held a knife to my throat I would say Bokuto. But it's such a close call, you have no idea.)

Favorite Arc/Episode/Scene: Easy - the training camp arc. Also if Fukurodani's match will be animated I will cry. If it will not get animated I will rage. And then cry. So there's that.

Character I Think is Underrated: Nishinoya. Also Kita. I adore them.

Character I Think is Overrated: (oh god don't come for me.) Tsumu. Listen it's NOT that I don't like him. It's just that I watched the show before reading the manga, the show made the very unfortunate decision not to continue after the game against Inarizaki, and mostly I ended up really loving the characters AFTER their games. Time-skip though is a different matter entirely.

Favorite Ship/Pairing: BOKUAKA. Always.

Something I Love About the Show/Movie: How beautifully each character is written. It's very difficult to really dislike any of them!

All for the Game:

Favorite Character: Andrew. He chose violence and held my heart ever since.

Favorite Arc/Episode/Scene: "You gave me a key and called it home." Also the whole hotel scene. Oh, and "Thank you. You were amazing."

Character I Think is Underrated: Wymack.

Character I Think is Overrated: Honestly none of them. Riko. by the media.

Favorite Ship/Pairing: Andreil. And lately JereJean.

Something I Love About the Show/Movie: The found family trope. And also "foxes will never raise other foxes."

Star Trek:

Favorite Character: Jim Kirk, mostly because he's such a smart dumbass.

Favorite Arc/Episode/Scene: since we're talking about AOS, the whole scene where Jim dies. I mean. It was the scene that got me into Star Trek. I remember texting my friend like "listen, idk who they are but they are canonically gay right?" Imagine my shock when I realised that it was not, in fact, canon.

Character I Think is Underrated: Chekov. (I'd say Bones because I love him but he's definitely not underrated.)

Character I Think is Overrated: Ohhhhh I don't actually have one?

Favorite Ship/Pairing: Kirk/Spock. In any universe.

Something I Love About the Show/Movie: That it was never about war. That they took the question, "but what if there's aliens??" and made it about science, and research, and interracial relationships.

Once Upon a Broken Heart:

Favorite Character: Evangeline. Out of any female character Stephanie Garber has written, she's the Queen of my Heart (oh, the irony.)

I mean, "children treat their toys better than you treated me"? Yes, queen.

Favorite Arc/Episode/Scene: Not gonna spoil anything. But the end of book two. If you know, you know.

Character I Think is Underrated: Lala, maybe? I also have to admit I have a fondness for Luc, even if he's an idiot.

Character I Think is Overrated: I'm sorry, I know it's not her storyline, but she's in the book so it counts: I really, really, REALLY disliked Tella. She annoyed me literally every time she had a thought, and I hated that she's so obviously the author's favourite. Scarlett deserved better.

Favorite Ship/Pairing: Evajacks.

Something I Love About the Show/Movie: Enemies to Lovers. Also the whole atmosphere of the book. It really felt like a slightly warped fairytale.

[stra-tek]

I would like to ask your opinion on the NuTrek set designs! I haven't watched strange new worlds or discovery (those are the nu prequel ones right?) mostly because I'm afraid they won't be good? Like they won't hold the same silly charm as TOS or TNG, and part of that worry is the ship design. I love that TOS bridge LOOKS like it's from the 60s, LOOKS like the ship is kinda held together with spit, sillystring, and human stubbornness, because that's how our real life space program was back then. From the pictures I've seen, I don't like all the fancy lights everywhere on a ship that looks completely different in TOS. I know they probably had to update it for marketing so like I get it but! What do you think and are the new sets distracting? And are the shows good? Thanks!

The sets are definitely very different to the old ones, more in line with the recent movie version of things where there are big windows in front with amazing space vistas and very hi-tech touchscreen panels everywhere. Personally I love them, they kept a few little callbacks to the originals like the Enterprise having some of the old jelly bean buttons on the consoles next to the modern flatscreen panels. I never found the brightness distracting but I've heard others complain about it. I only complained about Picard's third season where for 9 episodes they basically leave the lights off and you can barely see anyone😆 While Discovery has it's own look, the Enterprise has a kind of modern retro vibe where some things are now HUGE and SHINY but you'll spot stuff almost unchanged from the old show, like the Jeffries Tube Scotty was always tinkering in.

As for the shows themselves, they're a mixed bag (as were the originals)

Discovery had tons and tons of BTS drama, the people running the end of the first season weren't the same who started it so storytelling is somewhat uneven. And it's different from classic Treks in that it's one main plotline per season and there is one definite main character rather than an ensemble. Then they had two big shifts in direction: The first season is dark and mysterious, involving war with Klingons (who speak subtitled Klingon and like the sets have been reimagined to look far more alien) and mirror universes. The second tries to be much lighter in tone and more like the recent movies and has a plot that makes less and less sense the closer you examine it (but I still loved it), then they jump to the distant future where they're a relic in a universe that's changed a lot. It's also the queerest Trek ever with gay, nb and trans characters. There's some violence and swearing and a story about a former POW who was sexually abused in the first season but it's not all quite as it seems.

Strange New Worlds spins off from the second season of Discovery (but you don't need to have seen it first), and tells TOS/TNG/VOY style standalone stories which range from saving worlds to battling alien monsters to utter fluff but unlike the originals, what happens has lasting effects on the characters. It's got a mix of young versions of known characters, some have been changed a lot (Nurse Chapel is a total badass in this version, Spock is married to T'Pring and she's a huge part of his life) and others who didn't do enough in TOS to really be called changed, like Dr. M'Benga. They also have Kirk's brother on the crew and he's derpy as hell and we love him. It's the one most like classic Trek, but it's definitely more of a modern reboot of the concept even though officially it's a prequel in the same continuity (even going so far in Discovery as a "previously on" with clips from "The Cage" and then next season there's an episode called "Unification III", follwing on from the TNG two-parter and featuring the characters watching a clip from it). So don't get too hung up on all that stuff and just enjoy!

Hope that helps!🖖

[immacaria]

10 fandoms / 10 characters / 10 tags

Tagged by the lovely, wonderful @virgo-dream, and so sorry for taking so long to answer this. Really, really sorry, dear.

I'm not going to tag anyone because I think everyone already did this so, for those who hadn't, this is your sign to do it (and tag me to see it).

1. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Start Trek)

My personality was based solely in this man for a long, long time. The sass, the "I don't care" caring type, his relationship with Kirk e Spock, the eyebrow lift. I love this man very dearly to this days and I'll never, ever stop saying so. I wanted to be a doctor for him, can you imagine?

2. Peter Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia)

Something something older siblings doing what they can for their younger siblings. He is here not only because he was hot as fuck in these movies, but because he was a good brother or, at least, tried to be. I sympathised a lot with him and his way of being for a lot of reasons but mostly because I was always the one to care for my friends and sibling when we were young.

3. Hob Gadling (The Sandman)

I found Hob Gadling recently and while in a dark period of my life. It would be a lie to say that this stubborn, possibly-crazy and completely charming man didn't charm me the instant I saw him (And I'm not saying only bcuz of Ferdie, okay?). His endless hope in humanity, in the future, in the little things made me happy for being alive again, you know?? Of sitting back and just enjoying the simple fact that I'm breathing. That I can listen to music when I wish to. That my family is one call away from me. That I can go to college. That I have food in the fridge. It may not be much for many or something so common that people overlook it, but I'm here, I'm alive and I can see the world changing again and again and I just guess Hob made me realise that, you know? So yes, Hob goes in this list.

4. Jiang Cheng/Jiang Wanying (MDZS)

Angry Jiujiu who cared too much, got hurt again and again for that, lost literally EVERYONE but kept going. Did he do wrongs? Yes, a lot. Does he need to go therapy? Yes, a lot. Do I love him still? Yes, a lot. It's just that, whenever I see this man, the only thing I can think about is how precious he is, how much he cared for his whole family despite always being compared to others, always being called angry and undesirable by society (That hit a little bit too close to home, but okay) but still helping it, still out there doing his part. Everytime I think of him, I gain strength to go through whatever it is that I'm going through because "If Jiujiu could do it, I can too".

5. Shang Qinghua (SVSS)

Shang Qinghua is just a little guy, a crazy little guy who writes porn for a living and gets dragged in his own world without wanting to. He is very unassuming, very overlooked, but he is fucking crazy and he will kill a lot of people if they as much as look at his King wrong. This man literally wrote himself the man of his dreams and THEN he got him. THEY GOT TOGETHER. If that isn't every writer's dream I don't know what that is. But, mostly important, I support Shang Qinghua's right, but his wrongs are much more interesting.

6. Kiki (Kiki's Delivery Service)

I love that little witch, okay? She is a little sweetheart with so much love, hope and wonder for the world!! She works so hard!! She is so brave!! I love her, okay?? And her movie is beautiful too!! The strength of learning how to rest, how to let things flow is amazing. It would be a lie if I said I don't see myself a lot in her, you know? Specially regardings on the resting side lol. That one is not easy.

7. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Top Gun)

He is crazy. He is unhinged. He is reckless. He is self-sacrificing. He loves with his whole heart (which means he grieves with his whole heart as well). When I first watched the movie, years ago, I promised myself that I would be like him (And Goose) as much as I could. That I would laugh freely, that I would be bold, that I would be as strong as that crazy little man who doesn't know when to stop and reaches for what he wants without fear.

8. Kaldur'ahm (Young Justice)

Do I need to say more? Do I? This mas was literally perfect. Good person, respectful, good leader, cared about his people, was hot as fuck. He was fucking amazing and would do anything to assure that his team would get out of their mission alive and as well as they could be, even if it meant sacrificing himself.

9. Mulan (Mulan)

Badass queen who made me who I am today. This woman wasn't afraid of anything. She was a badass who fought for what was right, fuck what people thought of her or of the way she was dressing. She would do what was right, no matter what. I love her for that (And Shang as well, I love Shang a lot. The couple that made me realise I was bisexual years later). Simply amazing.

10. Reyna Avila Ramirez Arellano (HOO)

A queen. Never did nothing wrong, always has to put up with everyone's bullshit. Adopts a lot of little siblings, an amazing person. I love her and I had a MASSIVE crush on her when I was younger.

Honourable mentions (because they deserve it)

11. Porco Rosso (Porco Rosso)

I love that idiot, okay? He pretends not to care but he cares so much, he loves so much and he just wants to help. He is tired of the capitalism and everything, he just wants peace and to be left alone with his own things and plane. I love him a lot.

12. Merida (Merida)

I always saw her relationship with her mother a bit like mine with my mom. Merida just wants to be free, to do what she wishes to, be seen by what she is. She loves her little siblings, her mother and her father and even though she has no patience, she is never unkind to anyone. She is simply amazing.

13. Adam (Frankstein)

He was a monster (literally) but he was more human than many people out there. There was so much wonder in his being, he loved so much, cared so much and he just wanted to be cared and loved in return, but even his creator turned him down, even his creator recoiled from him and that made him suffer so much.